Dear Readers,
It has been joy writing to you these past few months. We hope that you have gained personal strength as you have read. Life3 has gotten in our way recently and after prayer, we have decide to suspend writing until June. We hope that you will rejoinus then but for now, please have a blessed Easter season.
BLESSED EASTER SUNDAY+…….Today is Easter Sunday, a Holy Day of Obligation in the Roman Catholic Church, the most important day in the Church’s liturgical calendar, a day which we as Christians around the world “celebrate” Jesus’ Resurrection from the Dead. His Resurrection fulfills God’s promise to send a Savior to us to redeem all sinners- the triumph of good over evil and the victory over sin and death and to bring eternal life to all human kind till the end of time. St Paul writes to the early Church in Corinth, “ And if Christ has not be
en raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”. Their is an ongoing discussion about which feast is more important, Christmas or Easter. Our salvation is determined by the Resurrection and because of Christmas, there is a Resurrection. No Resurrection – No Christian Faith.
Easter Sunday marks the end of the forty day Lenten season and the three-day Eater Triduum. Easter Sunday has been celebrated since the days of the early Church. It coincides with the Jewish Passover and is on the first Sunday of the first full moon following the spring equinox. Some Protestant denominations will hold Easter morning Sunrise Services, the focus being the women coming to find the empty tomb. This is an important fulfillment of the Scriptures, but it is not until the disciples see Jesus do they totally believe.
Because of the importance of “Eastertime”, the Catholic Church makes it mandatory for all who have received their First Communion, to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion from Easter Sunday through Pentecost Sunday (50 days after Easter).
The Easter season follows for the next seven weeks. “Alleluia” is sung, the Gloria is now reinserted and their is an emphasis on the humble beginnings of the early Church.. We have hoped you have made personal growth in your relationships. Keep building! Just because Lent is over don’t quit your prayer, fasting and Adoration routine. Now is the time to build on it. You have laid a foundation, now raise the building.
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he Easter Vigil, which is celebrated Holy Saturday evening is an absolutely beautiful service. While divided up into four liturgical parts: Service of Light, The Liturgy of the Word, The Liturgy of Baptism and The Liturgy of the Eucharist. In the Service of the Light, the church is darkened, a fire for blessing is lit and the Easter (Paschal) candle is blessed. During the Liturgy of the Word, seven Old Testament and two New Testament readings are proclaimed. Jennifer G. Miller writes in Catholicculture.org that the purpose of these reading is to “help us meditate on the wonderful works of God since the beginning of time”. During the Liturgy of Baptism the new Easter water is blessed for Sacraments and liturgies throughout the year. A highlight of this part of the Mass is the Baptism and Confirmation of the new Catholics of the community who have been preparing in their RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) classes for months. During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, special Eucharistic prayers are said.
Newness, freshness, beginning are words that the Easter Vigil brings to mind. On Easter morning, we celebrate Jesus’s Resurrection and the beginning of a new Church.
Last night we commemorated the Mass of the Last Supper which Jesus consecrated His Body and Blood and shared the Eucharist with the his apostles. Jesus also gave us our priests to say Mass and share Holy Communion with the faithful of the new Church which will in a short time have its humble beginnings. During his sharing and fellowship with the apostles, the road to Calvary begins with Judas fleeing the upper room and befriending his fellow betrayers of Jesus. While all of this seems too much for our human mind, God the Father’s plan to fulfill the Scriptures, offering us His only begotten Son, our Savior, our salvation, is taking its course. The Agony in the Garden, our first Pope, the head of the Church on Earth, denying ever knowing Jesus, the turning over to Pilate, the people who just a week earlier shouted “Hosanna” to their king, now chose Barabbas over Jesus, the Crown of Thorns, the scourging at the pillar, the walk of shame through the streets of Jerusalem to Calvary carrying the tree upon which Jesus will be sacrificed.
This, the most fateful day in history, yet without it we would toil like Adam, is commemorated today……GOOD FRIDAY. Our Lenten sacrifices, our Reconciliation, our fasting and abstinence, our prayerful time at Eucharistic Adoration, our walk with Jesus during the Stations of the Cross is what is asked for in return for Jesus’s sacrifice.
Take time today around 3:00 PM, bow your head and pray, thanking God the Father for the sacrifice of His Son, thanking Jesus for willingly accepting, and pray to the Holy Spirit for grace to continue the growth that we have made in our relationship with the Trinity.
The mass of the Last Supper, celebrated on Holy Thursday evening, is the first service of the Easter Triduum. It is the commemorates the celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Communion as well as the priesthood. The central observance of Holy Thursday is “the ritual reenactment of the Last Supper at Mass” (Catholic Online). We celebrate this during the Liturgy of the Eucharist at every Mass. During the consecration the priest says, “This is my body which will be given up for you”. And after taking the cup, the priest continues with the cup (chalice) by saying “This is my blood which will be given up for you”. When Jesus tells the apostles “Do this in remembrance of me, He is ordering the apostles to go out among the faithful and share the Body and Blood, hence the inception of the priesthood. That night, soon after the Passover meal, Judas will betray Jesus, leading to His death on the cross. However, with this “first Mass”, Jesus ensured us that by receiving Him in the Eucharist, He would remain a living part of us until we are able to meet Him face to face in heaven.
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “The summit of the Liturgical Year is the Easter Triduum—from the evening of Holy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. Though chronologically three days, they are liturgically one day unfolding for us the unity of Christ’s Paschal Mystery. The Triduum culminates the end of the Lent and leads up to the Mass of the Resurrection. The three liturgical services of the Triduum are the Mass of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion, and the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. The Triduum closes with Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday.
Due to the sacredness of this three day period, the Church employs certain rules about time and place, as well as other ordinary services. Also, “the local Ordinary” (usually the bishop of the Diocese) may give individual parish some latitude depending on the needs of the parish.
The Chrism oils used by the parishes in the Diocese are blessed and distributed during Holy Week in the Cathedral (the Bishop’s home church). Because of the large geographic areas of some of the western Dioceses (Idaho, for instance)
, the Chrism Mass is held early in Holy Week. Usually, they are blessed on Holy Thursday. These oils are used during the reception of the Sacraments.
The services of the Triduum are a holy time. In my experience of attending over the years, it brings the Catholic community together in both sorrow for the pain and suffering that Jesus endured and in celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.
The Jewish feast of Passover is a memorial to God’s passing over the houses of the Israelites and killed the Egyptian first-born male child and beast as the final plague that led to the Israelites’ exodus from their bondage in Egypt. Exodus 12 gives the biblical account of the “passing over” and the Lord’s freeing the Jews from slavery. During the times of Jesus, celebrating the Passover meant a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the ecstatic crowds when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
The Passover is an eight day period during the Jewish month Ni
ssan. There is a strict abstinence from chametz (leaven). Jewish households go through painstaking preparations to prepare their household for this celebration. Their are strict observances and attention to detail is mandatory. On the first night of Passover, many Jews and non-Jews celebrate the commemorative meal out of obedience to God (fire-roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread). This is called the Seder. Catholics celebrate their Passover meal by receiving the Eucharist attending Holy Thursday night Mass. Catholics commemorate this night of the Last Supper as the first Mass. (We will write a separate blog on Holy Thursday).
According to “What is the Meaning of the Christian Passover” (The Bible Study Site), “The Bible meaning of the Passover, for the New Testament Christian, revolves around the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is a memorial of his death as the true Lamb of God. Believers partake of unleavened bread and wine in remembrance of the sacrifice of Jesus’ beaten body and shed blood. This sacrifice makes possible the forgiveness of our sins. By partaking of the Passover symbols of bread and wine, we are proclaiming our continual faith in Jesus’ sacrifice.”
Palm Sunda
y is the final Sunday of Lent and begins our mast sacred week of the year, Holy Week. This special day commemorates Jesus’s triumphant arrival return to Jerusalem. Palm Sunday signified a high point of Holy Week. But, why Jerusalem, why palms and why on a donkey?
Jesus had spent the last months of His public ministry preaching about the kingdom of God and performing miracles. During this time Jesus has been communicating with the apostles that he would be put to death and would rise in three days. There were many Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. It was time for the people to “claim” their king.
As Jesus rode through Jerusalem on the donkey, those assembled waved palm branches, or palm frond
s to celebrate their king shouting “Hosanna, Hosanna”. Palm branches in ancient times signified victory and triumph. The pilgrims expected a political and military leader wanting a king on a throne. Instead, their king, the Messiah destined to come and fulfill the Scriptures, would stroll in humbly with no entourage except for the apostles on a donkey, an example of His humility. “But the kingdom of God is not of this world. It is a spiritual kingdom that is now growing in the hearts of people who put their faith and trust in God.”
Following Palm Sunday, there are different accounts about w
hat Jesus did between Palm Sunday and the celebration of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday. Here is the link to one account; http://www.jesus.org/death-and-resurrection/holy-week-and-passion/a-time-line-of-the-passion-week.html
Holy Week is the most sacred time of the Catholic liturgical year. This week marks the end of Jesus’s human life on Earth. We commemorate this time by attending services beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, also known as the Easter Vigil.
Grace Mackinnon explains in her article “What is the Meaning of Holy Week? (Catholic Education Resource Center) that the “Great Week” has been celebrated as early as the fourth century. Since that time, it has been treated with “great sanctity”. Although I will write an individual blog on each of the special days of Holy Week, it means a great deal collectively in concert with the entirety of Lent, the Triduum, and the fifty days following Easter. Mackinnon continues with the important message for us. When we immerse ourselves into the prayerful services of Holy Week, “our minds and hearts should be fixed on Jesus and what He did for us. Let us bear the Cross so that may be worthy of wearing the crown He wore.”
One of the most important virtues that we can increase is the virtue of obedience. Monsignor Charles Mangan writes in The Virtue of Obedience: Our Duty, Our Crown “for without it, one will never please the Lord, Who is our benevolent Creator and compassionate Master.” Monsignor continues to write that we are obliged to be obedient and it is our solemn duty. It is a submission of our will to His. The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses the virtue of obedience. “The duty of obedience requires all to give due honor to authority and to treat those who are charged to exercise it with respect, and, insofar as it is deserved, with gratitude and good-will.” (1900)
I could go deeper in to the theological meaning(s) of obedience, but I do not believe it is necessary right now. So, for us everyday Catholics and Christians, what does obedience mean? It means “obeying” the Ten Commandments, the Precepts of the Church, receiving the Sacraments, daily prayer, attending Mass and Holy Days of Obligation, following the Catechism and most importantly submitting to God’s will, not our own.
The greatest failure regarding obedience is “the personal disaster of obeying ONLY oneself” writes Donald Demarco in his article Obedience from the Catholic Education Resource Center. Demarco goes on to say that we are not wise enough or know ourselves well enough to be self-sufficient. This leads to alienation from others and will eventually close ourselves off completely from God. This form of disobedience is a grave sin. “Obedience needs prudence in order to be virtuous” writes Demarco. This prudence speaks to us to obey God over oneself.
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